Falcon is lighter, easier (as in, less effort and less skill required)... and therefore safer for a newer pilot. It's also more forgiving, so if you make a mistake during launch or landing, you'll have better odds of "getting away with it" versus the alternative
In hang gliding there's this funny thing, where "high performance" really only refers to GLIDE performance... which is how far the glider moves forward for every foot it descends through the air. So a Falcon might have, say, an 8:1 glide... and the "highest performance" flex wing might be approaching 20:1 at best. And I'm sort of guessing at the numbers, because hang glider manufacturers don't have access to wind tunnels, and don't like to publish numbers because obtaining concrete reliable flight data in the "real world" there's just too many variables...
Here's the funniest part- I have a Falcon, and a T2C with every option (high performance racing glider)... the Falcon flies slower, with makes soaring a lot easier... so in terms of soaring performance, most days the Falcon could easily be called higher performance than the T2C. Launching and landing is way easier, and requires a lot less running (launch) and runway (landing)... so again the Falcon could be considered much higher performance. The Falcon is much lighter weight than my T2C... and the Falcon sets up and breaks down a LOT faster, often leading to more airtime for me when I choose that wing for the day's flying... so again, the Falcon is higher performance there.
Really... it's just GLIDE performance... so if you're not concerned with trying to fly from A to B quickly, or losing the least possible amount of altitude while doing it... then a so-called "higher performance" glider is, well, NOT higher performance at all.
Disclaimer here is that I hate the Freedom. Not that it isn't a fine glider- I just think the premise is *STUPID*. It takes all of the compromises we accept in a higher performing (better gliding) glider, and incorporates them into a single-surface glider that will always be significantly handicapped in glide performance. It might go a little better than a Falcon at higher speeds, but no one's been able to PROVE that. And if it does, it certainly aint a big difference. And to gain that slightly better glide (assuming it does what they say it does), the owners have to pay more money, put more battens in and out every time they fly it, put curved tips in and out, and deal with a heavier glider. It's less yaw-damped, and less roll-stable than the Falcon. Can't speak for pitch stability because it's not certified. (www.hgma.net) So yea... I get that people like them, and I agree they look slick. But not so slick that I'd pay more, to work harder and fly less If I want performance, and I'm willing to spend more money, and spend more time setting up, I'd buy a Sport 2. I find them easier to fly VG off, lighter or comparable weight, and less expensive than the "full race" Freedom... and no one argues the Sport 2 glides better than the Freedom when you pull the VG tight. Sorry for the little sidebar... but man, I just do not get it!
Shut up and fly.